Sudan junta rejects international inquiry into Khartoum massacre

June 16 - 2019KHARTOUM

TMC spokesman and chairman of the Political Committee, Lt Gen Shamseldin Kabbashi (SUNA)

Sudan’s Transitional Military Council (TMC) says that the results of the fact-finding committee on the violent dispersal of the Khartoum sit-in on June 3, which, according to the Sudanese Central Doctors Committee, left more than 100 dead and up to 700 injured, would be announced on Saturday.

In a statement via the official Sudan News Agency (SUNA), TMC spokesman and chairman of the Political Committee, Lt Gen Shamseldin Kabbashi, declared that the TMC would not accept an international commission of inquiry because Sudan is a sovereign state.

TMC denies rapes, bodies thrown in Nile

Kabbashi questioned the figures of the victims of the massacre on June 3 of the Sudan Central Doctors Committee, claiming that “the number does not exceed 61”. He also denied the existence of cases of rape or throwing of victims into the Nile.

He ruled out agreeing to the terms of the Alliance for Freedom and Change (AFC) to resume negotiations, withdraw the military manifestations from the cities, restore Internet service, and the formation of an independent commission of inquiry on the massacre.

‘TMC did not order sit-in dispersed’

In a subsequent SUNA statement, the TMC stated that it did not order the breaking up of the sit-in by force. In a circular issued yesterday, the TMS said that “some media recently reported wrong information attributed to the press conference organised by theTMC’s political committee on Thursday that the council had ordered the sit-in to be forcibly dispersed”.

‘Sit-in was provocation’

At the Thursday press conference, another member of the Transitional Military Council, Maj Gen Yasir El Ata, claimed that “the sit-in of the Sudanese protesters in front of the headquarters of the Army General Command was a provocation to the armed forces”.

The press conference of the military junta, which was held on Thursday, received widespread reactions among political forces and professional entities as it was the first TMC conference following the massacre on June 3.

Alliance for Freedom and Change

The Alliance for Freedom and Change (AFC) renewed its commitment to the formation of an international commission of inquiry of the massacre, explaining that the military junta is the first accused.

It said in a statement that the TMC recognised its responsibility to take the decision to break the sit-in full membership and with the participation of security and justice.

The statement ridiculed the attempt to associate the charges of coups to the AFC, stressing its adherence to peacefulness of the revolution over the past months.

The AFC has affirmed its adherence to their unity more than ever before, condemning the attempts to create contradiction between them by pointing to the divergence among their components, a method that will not succeed in fragmenting the forces of revolution.

The AFC considered the TMC’s talk about setting a date for resuming negotiations an attempt to convince the opinion that the AFC is not serious in reaching an agreement to spare the bloodshed and explained that the TMC has not meet the requirements of the political process.

The statement called the spokesman for the military junta “a liar on the proposal of AFC to transfer of the negotiating headquarters to Addis Ababa”, explaining that the proposal came from the Ethiopian Prime Minister for which the AFC apologised on pretext of maintaining the Sudanese political process.

Sudanese Congress Party

The Sudanese Congress Party (SCP) confirmed its rejection of the results to be announced by the two committees in connection with the massacre of the General Command.

It considered in a statement the head of the judiciary and the Attorney-General involved in the crime, according to the account presented by the TMC’s spokesman at the conference.

The party declared its commitment to the formation of an independent international commission of inquiry, confirming his full confidence in the figures provided by the Sudan Doctors Central Committee and the Legal Doctors Union on the number of victims.

The opposition party affirmed its categorical rejection of accusing some components of the Alliance for Freedom and Change of participating in a military coup in recent weeks, stressing their unity and the peaceful movement of the masses.

Lawyers call for TMC to resign

The Democratic Lawyers Alliance (DLA) called for the resignation of members of the Transitional Military Council and all military leaders, the Chief Justice and the Attorney-General to ensure the impartiality of the investigation into the massacre of the General Command, pointing to the Transitional Military Council’s recognition of the participation of all these parties in planning of the breaking of the sit-in.

It stressed in a statement that the comment on the press conference of the TMC that everyone participated in the massacre planning and implementation, and knew about it before, is subject to indictment until proven otherwise.

Crime against humanity

It reiterated that the massacre was a crime against humanity in accordance with international law and treaties.

The Alliance said that the Attorney-General and the Chief Justice are not legally and morally qualified to investigate the massacre of the General Command and the trial of the accused for their participation in the meeting, which approved the dismantling of the sit-in.

It said the confessions of the spokesman for the military junta have created sufficient justification for ending the work of the current investigation committee and the formation of an international investigation committee to ensure monitoring, transparency and accuracy in the investigation.

It explained that “the military junta in its current composition is not qualified to initiate any political negotiations to decide on the future of governance in the Sudan nor to participate in the membership of the Sovereign Council in light of the obligation of all its members to investigate the crimes that resulted from the braking of the sit-in”.

Sudan Central Doctors Committee: 118 dead

The Sudan Doctors Central Committee condemned the TMC’s downplaying of the June 3 massacre claiming that the number of victims is less than what was reported by the Committee.

It rejected the TMC’s frequent questioning of its information on the massacre, explaining that the Commission and other professional entities in the Sudanese Professionals Association had proved credible in their publication.

The Committee reiterated that the number of dead since the June 3 massacre at the Khartoum sit-in has been 118, pointing to the continued investigation of the people missing, burned and dumped.

It said that the TMC thinks that reducing the number of victims to 61 may save them, noting that Al Bashir’s previous statements of killing 10,000 people in Darfur did not save him from falling.

‘Junta statements ridiculed’

Commenting on the press conference of the military junta on Thursday evening, journalist Shawgi Abdelazim told Radio Dabanga that the Sudanese street ridiculed the statements made by members of the military junta at the press conference by telephone and text messages, pointing out that cutting off the Internet and not allowing independent investigation of the command massacre defeats and disqualifies all TMC attempts.

He pointed out that the Sudanese street recognises that the purpose of cutting the Internet is to try to cover up the crimes and seek to hide their features.

He pointed to the people’s ridiculing of the Council on the pretext of the national sovereignty of the rejection of the independent investigation commission, stressing that these arguments are no longer fooling anyone.

He pointed to the vigilance of the Sudanese street towards the provocation of contradictions between the components of the Alliance for Freedom and Change, explaining that the street looks at the military junta as a new dictator.

Journalist Shawgi Abdelazim said that the military junta tried during its press conference on Thursday evening to criminalise the Alliance for Freedom and Change, and hold them responsible for disrupting negotiation.

He explained that the military junta sought to influence the public opinion regarding the massacre of June 3 by trying to hold the AFC responsible for the error.

He pointed out that the military junta tried to stir-up differences and contradictions among of the Alliance for Freedom and Change by praising some and accusing others of trying to conduct coups and waving the use of security solutions against them.